Spring-hinge



(Men J. H, ALEXANDER SPRING HINGE.

[NVENTOR A T T OR/Vf Y a n. PEIENS, mwum m Washingfm 0 1;

7 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE. Y

JAMES H. ALEXANDER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING-HINGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 269,986, dated January 2, 1883,

' Application filed April 6, 1882. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. ALEXANDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful- Improvements in Hinges; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being bad to the accompanying drawto ings, which form part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is afront elevation ofa spring with my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is an elevation of pintle. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical sections of pintle and leaf-lugs. Figs. 5,6, and 7 are plans of lugs. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of one of the lugs. Fig. 9 is'a plan of washer.

My invention has for its object to providemeans whereby the tension of springs in spring- 7 2o hinges may be regulated.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a hinge by means of which a door or window to which it is applied may be locked when closed or in eithera wholly or partly opened position.

Myimprovements consist in the peculiar construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth, having reference, first, to'the combination, with a spring-hinge, of a ratchet-collar 0 in which one end of said spring is secured and a washer with which said ratchet clutches or engages,saidwasherbeingprovided withmeans wherehyit is made fast or locked on the hingepintle; and, second, to the combination, with a pintle having a fin, of a hinge-leaf having notches into which said fin may be partially withdrawn when the hinge is in certain positions, and retained therein by the tension of the spring, which causes the washer that engages o with the ratchet-collar to press against the fin of the pintle, thereby effecting the locking of the door to which said hinge is applied when such door is closed or in a wholly or partly open position.

4 5 Referrin g to the accompanying drawings,A and 13 represent two leaves of a butt-hinge, and G the pintle thereof. Said leaves have lugs a. a and b b, with eyes a a and b b for the passage of the pintle. The latter has a so fin, c, and the eyes a b have notches a and b respectively, for the passage of the fin, said The other end of said spring is secured in or to a collar, F, having ratchet-teeth f on one of its ends, as shown.

Gr IS a washer having one or more ratchet or clutch teeth, 1, adapted to engage with the teethfot' collar F, and having also an eye, 9, i

for the passage of the pintle, and a notch, 9 therein for the passage of the fin c. This washer is located between the lug b and the collar F. The pintle-fin 0 starts sufficiently far below the head or acorn c to leave a round part, 0 above the fin equal in depth to the thickness of the lug a, so that when said pin- 0 tle is in its usual position it will turn freely in the eye of said lug a. Said fin is also ot'sutfi cient length andso located thatitwill occupy 7 the notches or corners b and g in the lug b and washer G, respectively, when the pintle is in its normal position, under which condition, when one of theleaves is turned by the opening or closing of the door, the other leaf remainiug stationary or fixed on the jamb, the pintle will be rotated, carrying with it the washer G. As said washer G engages by its teeth g with the collar F the latter is also rotated, carrying with it the end of the spring D, thus winding the latter or producing tension therein, the other end of said spring being held in the collar E, which is incapable of moving by reason of its lugeabutting against leat' A, as'shown. I 0 To increase the tension of the spring D, the ratchet-collar F is rotated by hand in the directionof the arrow as, thus bringing different teeth into engagement on the part of itself and thewasher G. 5

The eye a of the lug a, in addition to the notch a which extends throughout its length and permits the passage of the pintle-fin, has three other notches, i k l, which extend from the inner or under side of the lug [only part :00 way through the latter. Into one of these notches, i, the fine may be withdrawn when the shown in Fig. 5, and as said leaves cannot-be two leaves of the hinge are in the same planethe position they occupy when a door to which they are attached is closed. It may be withdrawn into the notch it when the leaves stand at right angles to each other, as they do when a door to which they are attached is partly open and standing perpendicular to its jamb; and it may be withdrawn into the notch I when the leaves stand parallel or foldedthe position they occupy when the door is opened as fully as possible. To move the fin into these notches the collar F is slid down by hand against the pressure of the spring D and the pintle drawnupward, the fin of course being aligned with the notch it is desired to have it enter. When the fin is in any of the notches i k l the pintle cannot rotate in the eye of the lug a, and hence the hinge is locked, the pintle being held in its elevated position by frictional contact between the fin and the collar F, which is pressed against the tin by the tension of the spring D. To unlock the hinge the pintle is slid down on the spring, so as. to move its fin out of the notch in the eye of lug a.

As the notches a b in the lugs a I) register only when the hinge-leaves stand relatively as brought into such position when the hinge is secured to a door and its jamb, it follows that the pintle maybe inserted to secure such leaves together when the hinge or one of said leaves is, detached from the door or jamb, but cannot be withdrawn when both said leaves are fastened in place on such door and jamb.

The washer G affords means for locking the ratchet-collar F to the pintle, so as to cause said ratchet and pintle to move together, and thus produce the necessary tension of the spring,while at the same time said ratchet may be adjusted or turned on said collar, so as to increase or regulate such tension; The notches i k l in the lug a, permitting the pintle-fin to enter thereto, allow the hinge to be locked in several positions, thus enabling adoor to which my improved hinge is applied to be held fast, 5 either when closed or when partly or wholly opened, dispensing with hooks, braces, or equivalent supplementary devices for this purpose. 1

Ido not limit my invention to theuse ofthree 5o notches for locking purposes, as a greater or less number may be employed.

What I claim as my invention is as follows: I l. The combination of pintle 0, having fin c, with spring D and leaves A B, the eye-lug of 5 leaf A having an internal notch or notches into which the said tin may be withdrawn, and the said spring serving to maintain the pintle in its elevated position by frictional contact, substantially as set forth.

2. In a spring-hinge, the combination of the following elements: a pintle having a fin or lateral projectioma hinge-leaf and a washer, having each an-opening for the passage of said pintle, and a notch for the reception of the 'pin- 65 tle fin or projection, said washer having also one or more ratchet-teeth, a ratchet engaging with said washeigand a spring, one of whose ends is secured to said ratchet, whereby the spring is fastened atone end to theleaf through 70 the medium of the pintle, washer, and ratchet, the latter also affording means for varying the tension of said spring,snbstantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoingl 75 have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of April, 1882.

JAMES H. ALEXANDER.

Witnesses: i I

ANDREW ZANE, J r. WILL H. POWELL. 

